Elephant Plains: Hunting with Tingana

The last day of the safari found us out early and tracking leopard prints which we discovered close to the Lodge. The prints were of a large male leopard, moving quite rapidly and the trackers expertly found these not too difficult to follow.

After a long search we found Tingana, a dominant, large male resident in the area. He was on a hunt and we proceeded to follow him closely, sometimes next to him, and at other times close behind him – cameras busy!

We continued in this way until we came across a herd of Nyala which Tingana immediately started to stalk. He crept closer and closer to the Nyala quietly and stealthily, living up to his reputation as a master of ambush. The Nyala remained quite oblivious of his presence during this time, emphasising his amazing ability to remain unnoticed even though he was within touching distance.

Suddenly he leapt, and in the general confusion and melee, the Nyala managed to get away. But not before all cameras clicking furiously captured dozens of images of the action.

Undeterred, Tingana continued his hunt, moving toward a herd of impala.

Sadly, we had to return to the Lodge for our farewells, but everyone was more than delighted with the wonderful days they had spent at this amazing Lodge and with the winning images they had captured during these days.

We all vowed to return again as soon as we can – the leopard action here is not to be missed …